The present invention is directed to photovoltaic systems and manufacturing processes and apparatuses thereof.
As the population of the world has increased, industrial expansion has led to a corresponding increased consumption of energy. Energy often comes from fossil fuels, including coal and oil, hydroelectric plants, nuclear sources, and others. As merely an example, the International Energy Agency projects further increases in oil consumption, with developing nations such as China and India accounting for most of the increase. Almost every element of our daily lives depends, in part, on oil, which is becoming increasingly scarce. As time further progresses, an era of “cheap” and plentiful oil is coming to an end. Accordingly, other and alternative sources of energy have been developed.
In addition to oil, we have also relied upon other very useful sources of energy such as hydroelectric, nuclear, and the like to provide our electricity needs. As an example, most of our conventional electricity requirements for home and business use comes from turbines run on coal or other forms of fossil fuel, nuclear power generation plants, and hydroelectric plants, as well as other forms of renewable energy. Often times, home and business use of electrical power has been stable and widespread.
Most importantly, much if not all of the useful energy found on the Earth comes from our sun. Generally, plant life on the Earth achieves life using photosynthesis processes from sunlight. Fossil fuels such as oil were also developed from biological materials derived from energy associated with the sun. For life on the planet Earth, the sun has been our most important energy source and fuel for modern day solar energy.
Solar energy possesses many desirable characteristics; it is renewable, clean, abundant, and often widespread. Certain technologies developed often capture solar energy, concentrate it, store it, and convert it into other useful forms of energy.
Solar panels have been developed to convert sunlight into energy. For example, solar thermal panels are used to convert electromagnetic radiation from the sun into thermal energy for heating homes, running certain industrial processes, or driving high-grade turbines to generate electricity. As another example, solar photovoltaic panels are used to convert sunlight directly into electricity for a variety of applications. Solar panels are generally composed of an array of solar cells, which are interconnected to each other. The cells are often arranged in series and/or parallel groups of cells in series. Accordingly, solar panels have great potential to benefit our nation, security, and human users. They can even diversify our energy requirements and reduce the world's dependence on oil and other potentially detrimental sources of energy.
Although solar panels have been used successfully for certain applications, there are still certain limitations. Solar cells are often costly. Depending upon the geographic region, there are often financial subsidies from governmental entities for purchasing solar panels, which often cannot compete with the direct purchase of electricity from public power companies. Additionally, the panels are often composed of costly photovoltaic silicon bearing wafer materials, which are often difficult to manufacture efficiently on a large scale, and sources can be limited.
Solar cells are manufactured in a set of predetermined sizes. For example, cells are typically produced to have a width and length of approximately 156 mm. Current, voltage and resistance for such cells are largely related to the material and size characteristics of the cells. For example, cell current is directly proportional to cell area. Therefore, standard size solar cells tend to have very similar characteristics, which limits the ability of manufacturers to optimize characteristics of modules that employ a plurality of cells. Accordingly, some manufacturers cut standard sized cells into smaller parts, which may be referred to as strips, to affect the characteristics of the photovoltaic materials.
Conventionally, solar cells are mechanically cut with a saw. However, this technique has numerous disadvantages. The saw blades are very expensive, and must be replaced regularly. Saw blades wear quickly, so the quality of cuts progressively degrades after the first cut. Saw cutting processes generate a substantial amount of heat at the cutting surface, which can damage a cell. The combination of particulate and force from the cutter can cause particulate to be embedded in the cells, leading to degraded performance. In addition, water flushing to remove heat and particulate in a mechanical cutting process can damage cells.
Therefore, it is desirable to have novel system and method for manufacturing solar panels.